Tank Tales: What was your first tank like and how did it come about?

[revhtree]

Today let's talk about your first tank and what led you to setting it up!

1. What was your first tank like?

2. What was the circumstance that got you into reefing?


My story is a 4 part mini series!

It's crazy how mine came about and it was some development of circumstances that I didn't even see coming that ultimately led me here today. I was a teacher in our small church private school and we had a couple of brothers who got a saltwater fish tank for Christmas one year. I had a really good relationship with this family and they would always talk about it, the fish and the cool stuff that they saw etc. Made me very interested! Part one is completed.

Fast forward a few years later and we're watching this really awesome movie you might have heard of called Finding Nemo! Man it was a thriller! Anyway my wife mentions to me that she would like to have a Nemo tank and part 2 was done! I was on it!

Remember those two brothers from our Christian school? By this time they had already graduated and we didn't have too much contact as this was before Facebook and other social media avenues that easily connects friends and family. I was able to locate their number and gave them a call to talk about their old tank and they told me that their tank was dry and sitting in a garage and if I wanted it I could buy it. I think I got that 75G with stand and a bunch of other mismatched Seaclone skimmer parts for $150 or so. Part 3 was finished!

So I begin to research saltwater tanks, should have done that first, and begin making trips to a LFS where I presented my box of skimmer parts to the owner of the store who begin to explain to me what I had and what I needed. I found a forum, www.aquariumadvice.com, and that's where I really dug in and started learning. I was able to learn that I needed a bunch of rock called live rock and then I could pretty much get started. But that stuff was expensive! Well hello and thank you Tax Return check! By this time my wife was all into this venture and so it was an easy decision to spend our entire tax return (all of our extra money) on wet brown rock that was somehow living and one of the best skimmers on the market, according to the lfs owner, a Sea Clone Skimmer! It was a pretty good investment if you ask me. And so part 4 comes to an end with the lfs owner coming to my house and helping me set up my first ever saltwater aquarium. Shout out to LFS owners! WOOT!

This is embarrassing but here is one of my very first threads... ;Bucktooth

Then about 10 days later I ask how many anemones can I keep in my tank! HA! I'm surprised, looking back, that they didn't ban me!

 

[NashobaTek]

It was a 60 gallon homemade plywood cube with 3 viewing windows. I got it free from a friend of my mom's.
Added plexiglass to the wooden areas to make it water tight.
Great tank for back in the 70 -80's!

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Good question!

My first tank was actually freshwater. I was about 5 years old and remember my parents getting me a little 10 or 20 gallon AIO freshwater tank.

I remember having Neón tetras, snails, some corys, a pleco of some sort, and some angels. I don’t really remember much about taking care of it other than feeding my fish and falling asleep to tetras farting around (it was next to my bed).

ironically it was this tank that made me want saltwater in a roundabout way. I remember going to an Uncle Bills’ pet center (Indiana) and seeing a volitans lion and wishing I could have one myself. Fast forward 25 years and here I am! Lol

 

[WVNed]

A co-worker was going to throw a Nancube away. He had been trying to keep Nemo and nem for his kids with no success.
I said it can't be that hard. I had kept freshwater since 1983. I had 10 tanks in the second bedroom of our first apartment.
It's his fault I caught this disease.

100% true. I brought it home but it was in sad shape. I put new lights in it using the boards from screw in Compact florescent lights (a big thing then) and a new pump.
Seems like a million years ago now.

4-12-2007

These pics are probably still out there on Nanoreef.com
Incuding my blurry what is this? pics

 

[DeniseAndy]

My story starts out when I was about 10 years old. I saw a beluga whale and fell in love with ocean creatures. By 20yrs old, I had my first FO system. Just clowns and dwarf angel. That lasted about 1.5yrs before career and life got too much (plus my city water was not suitable anymore).

Jump forward (too many years to speak of) and I mentioned I would like to get back into saltwater to my husband. He was confused and not really understanding. I wanted a reef system. Not FO.

Jump ahead a year or so and after a trip to Oahu for work, he said, you should set up a reef tank. DONE! Our oldest son was 7 months old and I began keeping reefs.

 

[Reeferstin]

Today let's talk about your first tank and what led you to setting it up!

1. What was your first tank like?

2. What was the circumstance that got you into reefing?


My story is a 4 part mini series!

It's crazy how mine came about and it was some development of circumstances that I didn't even see coming that ultimately led me here today. I was a teacher in our small church private school and we had a couple of brothers who got a saltwater fish tank for Christmas one year. I had a really good relationship with this family and they would always talk about it, the fish and the cool stuff that they saw etc. Made me very interested! Part one is completed.

Fast forward a few years later and we're watching this really awesome movie you might have heard of called Finding Nemo! Man it was a thriller! Anyway my wife mentions to me that she would like to have a Nemo tank and part 2 was done! I was on it!

Remember those two brothers from our Christian school? By this time they had already graduated and we didn't have too much contact as this was before Facebook and other social media avenues that easily connects friends and family. I was able to locate their number and gave them a call to talk about their old tank and they told me that their tank was dry and sitting in a garage and if I wanted it I could buy it. I think I got that 75G with stand and a bunch of other mismatched Seaclone skimmer parts for $150 or so. Part 3 was finished!

So I begin to research saltwater tanks, should have done that first, and begin making trips to a LFS where I presented my box of skimmer parts to the owner of the store who begin to explain to me what I had and what I needed. I found a forum, www.aquariumadvice.com, and that's where I really dug in and started learning. I was able to learn that I needed a bunch of rock called live rock and then I could pretty much get started. But that stuff was expensive! Well hello and thank you Tax Return check! By this time my wife was all into this venture and so it was an easy decision to spend our entire tax return (all of our extra money) on wet brown rock that was somehow living and one of the best skimmers on the market, according to the lfs owner, a Sea Clone Skimmer! It was a pretty good investment if you ask me. And so part 4 comes to an end with the lfs owner coming to my house and helping me set up my first ever saltwater aquarium. Shout out to LFS owners! WOOT!

This is embarrassing but here is one of my very first threads... ;Bucktooth

Then about 10 days later I ask how many anemones can I keep in my tank! HA! I'm surprised, looking back, that they didn't ban me!

My very first saltwater tank was right off the shelf from petco i had no idea what i was getting into, tempered glass not reef ready, i even bought a HOB filter Small led strip and some bubbles thinking i would be good to go!!! Oh man i was so wrong one week later after finding reef2reef and hours of reading on here i upgraded to a 72 gallon reef ready with a set of AI hydras sump skimmer UV and a mag drive return pump small upgrades here and there now i can call my self experienced

 

[Reefing_addiction]

Discover paid for the tank and first part of the set up. Than everything else has been on bought as I have money

 

[Casket_Case]

I had a twenty gallon tall from my uncle and I just put together a freshwater planted community aquarium. Two months later I started looking at saltwater tanks... how easy it was to do... cool nano aquascapes, easy corals... after convincing my parents to let fifteen year old me do a saltwater tank I did some yard work for my uncle and bought a marine land HOB filter. I did some lawn mowing, leaf raking, and car washing and got three little pieces of rock and two little damsels with a green dragon eye zoanthid frag from a crazy overpriced shop. It went great and stayed up until December of this year when I got a forty gallon.

 

[Deschutes541]

I went to an LFS for some freshwater fish and walked out with a used 110 gallon aquarium and stand.

 

[dbowman5]

Dawn is when the sky is lighter in the morning. sunrise is when the top of the sun is visible. if the question is how i paid for the first Sw tank my answer is "in stages"

 

[ChrisNH]

Paid in large part from all the summer camp refunds thanks to Covid.

 

[salty150]

Isn't "I just had enough money" and "savings" kind of the same thing...?

 

[Everything Aquatics]

My first reef tank is the one I have currently which is a 20 gallon Waterbox. I have had freshwater tanks before but this was my first saltwater. I had always wanted to get into saltwater but never got around to it. After my friend got his first saltwater tank I thought I would give it a try. So far it is doing good and I am very happy to have started this tank.

 

[Patientman]

Worked a second job and saved until I could set up my 240g the way I wanted … figured it was my hobby … so my responsibility to fund it … was NOT going to touch the "house money". Wife appreciated that at the beginning … but now she also appreciates that we have a calming piece of the ocean in the basement … so she is receptive to new additions and upgrades! LUCKY ME!!!

 

[S2G]

It all started for me with a 10g at like 13. I caught baby bass & sunfish out of the family pond.

Sw started with green spotted puffers. Once I figured out it wasnt the boogie man then I moved on to a porky puff & then soft coral

 

[Angelwolf21203]

My first tank was FOWLR. I slowly acquired the supplies I deemed necessary after much research. It was a 55g freshwater tank, and after I acquired all of the supplies, I converted over. At the time, I was still living with my parents, but I had a job and so I was able to spend my money on the aquarium, instead of adulting. My current tank is a 90g reef tank that was purchased with tax return money!

 

[ajhudson15]

so I had always had freshwater tanks since I was little. when my wife and I met I started to set one up and her and her family kept saying. o you should do saltwater. I kept declining until they finally talked me into it. fast forward 7 years I am deeply invested into this hobby and now they always give me crap for spending to much money on it.

 

[siropa]

My actual first tank was a gold fish only tank around 1976 or so. But for saltwater, it was a 15g mostly macroalgae tank with a few corals. It was around 1993 or 94. I had been working at a LFS and decided to finally try a salt water tank.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Today let's talk about your first tank and what led you to setting it up!

1. What was your first tank like?

2. What was the circumstance that got you into reefing?


My story is a 4 part mini series!

It's crazy how mine came about and it was some development of circumstances that I didn't even see coming that ultimately led me here today. I was a teacher in our small church private school and we had a couple of brothers who got a saltwater fish tank for Christmas one year. I had a really good relationship with this family and they would always talk about it, the fish and the cool stuff that they saw etc. Made me very interested! Part one is completed.

Fast forward a few years later and we're watching this really awesome movie you might have heard of called Finding Nemo! Man it was a thriller! Anyway my wife mentions to me that she would like to have a Nemo tank and part 2 was done! I was on it!

Remember those two brothers from our Christian school? By this time they had already graduated and we didn't have too much contact as this was before Facebook and other social media avenues that easily connects friends and family. I was able to locate their number and gave them a call to talk about their old tank and they told me that their tank was dry and sitting in a garage and if I wanted it I could buy it. I think I got that 75G with stand and a bunch of other mismatched Seaclone skimmer parts for $150 or so. Part 3 was finished!

So I begin to research saltwater tanks, should have done that first, and begin making trips to a LFS where I presented my box of skimmer parts to the owner of the store who begin to explain to me what I had and what I needed. I found a forum, www.aquariumadvice.com, and that's where I really dug in and started learning. I was able to learn that I needed a bunch of rock called live rock and then I could pretty much get started. But that stuff was expensive! Well hello and thank you Tax Return check! By this time my wife was all into this venture and so it was an easy decision to spend our entire tax return (all of our extra money) on wet brown rock that was somehow living and one of the best skimmers on the market, according to the lfs owner, a Sea Clone Skimmer! It was a pretty good investment if you ask me. And so part 4 comes to an end with the lfs owner coming to my house and helping me set up my first ever saltwater aquarium. Shout out to LFS owners! WOOT!

This is embarrassing but here is one of my very first threads... ;Bucktooth

Then about 10 days later I ask how many anemones can I keep in my tank! HA! I'm surprised, looking back, that they didn't ban me!

Mine was obviously one of the OG biocubes. I had always had freshwater but the store owner noticed how much I liked the reef tanks and gave me a steal on a complete setup. I had that for about 1.5 years of not knowing what I was doing, but it was definitely a learning experience! ~ Shaun K.

 

[Fishurama]

My first saltwater tank was a 120 and the only reason i got into the hobby(I was already into freshwater) is i found someone selling a Visio tank and stand, with canopy, glass covers, powerheads, return pump, sump, and others dribs and drabs for 500 bucks.
Would have been closer to 3-4k otherwise for all the same stuff new.